


One Time

by jeejaschocolate



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Cunnilingus, F/F, Femslash, First Time, Rare Pairing, Virginity, YGO Crossover, love that disregards the dimensions, references to Arc-V
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 00:57:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3709131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeejaschocolate/pseuds/jeejaschocolate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akari travels to the 5Ds dimension on a reporting job. She runs into Sherry LeBlanc, of all people. This has some...unexpected consequences (spoiler: most of them are sexy and lovely).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a Yu-Gi-Oh crossover fic that takes place mostly in the 5Ds world, with mentions of some things that go on in Zexal (and of course references to Arc-V because of the inter-dimensional time travel and all that). 
> 
> I have deep love for these characters, doesn't anyone notice how badass Akari is? I wanted to put her, exactly as she is, in the 5Ds world where motorcycles are everything. And Sherry is also great, it's like she stepped right out of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
> 
> And even though I know this paring is not a thing, I think it really should be! Hope you enjoy this one. There's a slow build at first.

They told her the first rule of inter-dimensional time travel was this: Never tell anyone where you are from. Everyone in the other world has to see you as a stranger, never knowing that you come from a different time and space. This helps to avoid any potentially disastrous paradoxes, and it keeps the whole operation a necessary secret.  
  
“Yeah, yeah,” Akari had said at the time. “Thanks for the advice, guys, but I got this.”    
  
What did they think she was, stupid or something? As if she was going to run her mouth in some bizarre new dimension. No way. Akari had a job to do so she would stay focused on that and nothing else. She was going to the Synchro Dimension to explore and report back on what she found.  
  
Figured they would send a reporter to do a scientist’s job. After all, reporters knew how to weigh in on all the important, most interesting stuff. And Akari had absolutely no complaints---finally, she would be the first and only one with the big scoop! Of course that meant she had to travel unsupervised to a new, up until now completely unexplored dimension, but the young woman was far from worried. She had her father’s spirit when it come to exploring. This was just one of many adventures Akari would have in her life!  
  
So, she waved a casual goodbye to the scientists in her hometown and rode her motorcycle headfirst into the portal---what was it called again, an inter-dimensional rift in the space-time continuum or something? Whatever, Akari had stopped listening while they explained it to her. It was clearly just a glowing portal. That worked fine.  
  
At first all she saw was light. A lot of light. Her body felt weightless and for a moment she could not feel the ever-present sturdiness of the motorcycle between her thighs, like her bike had suddenly dropped a few pounds of steel. She gripped her handlebar tighter and narrowed her eyes, searching for the end of the light in the tunnel...  
  
Then reality hit her hard. She was in the sky...and then she was not. Her surroundings materialized around her until she had no semblance of floating or tunnels or light, she was just driving down a seemingly ordinary highway. Her bike cruised steadily at around 50 mph. She checked her mirrors, her lights, her gauges, everything worked fine. So she had made it out alive, at least. Good start.  
  
So this was the Synchro Dimension? Akari peered through the visor on her helmet, absorbing all the sights. Nothing too exciting yet, it just looked like a normal city full of skyscrapers and streets. She could see an elaborately designed bridge with reinforcements that stretched taller than most of the nearby buildings. Fascinating. People in this dimension valued their bridges and roads, it seemed. In the distance, she saw what looked like a large diamond ring surrounded by an upside down V. Beautiful.  
  
Akari stopped her bike, propping it against the kickstand. She stood up and removed her helmet, letting her ponytail sway freely. Inhaling deeply, Akari noted the air quality. A lingering smell of machine oil permeated her senses, but she found it welcoming. As if that was simply a natural quality of this place, Neo Domino City it was called.  
  
The young woman smiled. So this dimension was not entirely unfamiliar, after all. She snapped a few photos, storing the polaroids in her jacket pocket and backing up the files on her camera.  
  
Scanning the highways, Akari saw more than a few people riding motorcycles. That was exciting, also convenient. This way Akari could blend in with everyone else without drawing attention to herself for riding a motorcycle, which certainly drew a few gazes in Heartland.  
  
“Nice,” she said to herself. “Now how about something exciting for me to make into a headline....”  
  
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Akari saw a sight that made her jaw literally drop. One highway had a section that veered off the main road, looking like it had been intentionally segregated. Walls stood on the sidelines with flashing words that read “Caution: Duel in Progress.” Following that road, Akari saw two figures on motorcycles, one dressed almost entirely in white riding a similarly white bike with gold and red embossing. The other person was dressed in grey riding a nondescript black bike. Besides that, they seemed to be...dueling. There were monster holograms hovering right alongside the bikes and attacking each other on command, floating trap cards, lifepoint counters...  
  
Akari lost her breath in disbelief. “Dueling? On _motorcycles_?”    
  
Well, it looked like she had found her headline. She hastily snapped a few photos and hopped on her bike, revving the engines right away so she could pursue the apparent duelists before they got away.  
  
The only problem with this plan, Akari soon realized, was that she could not access the road they were on because of the partitions. Those annoying walls flashed yellow warning signs in her face as soon as she tried to get close.  
  
“Caution, duel in progress. Any non-dueling vehicles please vacate the premises,” the robotic voice reprimanded as Akari attempted to ride the sidelines.  
  
“Yeah, I get it, just let me get a little closer...” Through gritted teeth, Akari followed the main road as near to the duel as possible.  
  
She craned her neck, taking her eyes off the road in front of her to see over the partitions and watch the duel. Fortunately, she was near enough that she could make out what the duelists were saying to each other. Also, they were practically shouting at each other. That helped.  
  
The person in white threw their arm out to the side, shouting, “... So now I can summon Chevalier de Fleur, in attack mode!”  
  
Virtual rose petals scattered around the bikes, vanishing before they touched the ground. An impressive looking monster appeared, clearly a knight of some kind. It wore pink and grey armor with a floral headdress and maroon cape, sporting a sword that was big enough to be a spear. Akari wished she could take a picture while she was riding, but that would have been way too unsafe.  
  
Too bad, that monster was incredible! And from the obvious bust, it appeared to be a female...  
  
Akari glanced back at the white rider. Again, her jaw dropped. The rider had managed to turn their bike around so that now they were riding _backwards_ of all things. Talk about unsafe! But again, so damn impressive.  
  
“Ha! You think that will be enough to stop me?” The other riding duelist called out. “Try this!”  
  
The grey rider’s monster seemed to be formidable on its own as well, some kind of machine-looking thing. It geared up for an attack that was bound to hurt, gears sliding into place, arms outstretched and glowing, the whole deal.  
  
“Be careful!” Akari called to the white rider, entirely out of reflex. The wind ripped her voice away. She was sure the rider could not hear her.  
  
The machine monster’s attack sent a heavy impact of virtual reality and actual force straight towards the white rider. Akari saw it happening almost in slow motion. Her heart skipped a beat, or several, as she watched the impact slam into the white rider, forcing them to lose control. The rider was sent flying backwards off their bike, landing about ten feet away from the collision. Their intricately painted bike skidded on its side in a whirlwind of sparks and smoke until it came to a slow stop.  
  
Apparently, that ended the duel. The partitions dropped, the lifepoint counters cleared, and the holograms disappeared. The grey rider sped up and onwards, laughing hysterically as they rode past the rider’s fallen body and into the distance, not even bothering to stop to see if their opponent was alright.  
  
“Not a friendly duel, I guess,” Akari mused.  
  
Without wasting a moment, Akari swerved into the former dueling lane. Her pulse raced as she surveyed the scene from afar, noticing how the white rider’s slim body shook as they rolled over onto their back. Not good, they were definitely injured.  
  
Wait a minute, how did someone call in an emergency in this dimension...?  
  
As Akari turned over the possibilities, another motorcycle jumped down into the lane ahead of her. Literally jumped, apparently this person had been riding above them in the main lane and Akari had not even noticed. They rode a comically long black bike with retro wheel-wells. Actually it was a four-wheeler, not even a bike at all. A large man in a tuxedo rode on the back of it. He quickly approached the fallen rider and stopped his vehicle alongside them.  
  
The man in the tuxedo took off his helmet immediately. His spiky hair and mullets stuck out on the edges of his face, but other than that he appeared to be made of stone. His expression was completely unmoved, if possibly disgruntled in a general way, as he hoisted the rider into a sitting position in the middle of the street. Meanwhile, Akari stopped her bike and kept still in the sidelines, deciding to stay hidden now that the man had arrived.  
  
In one movement, the man removed the white rider’s helmet. A cascade of silky blonde hair fell out, revealing a feminine face so delicate it looked like it was made out of porcelain. Akari glanced across the white rider’s body, suddenly registering the subtle curves in certain, telling places. Clearly, this white rider was a woman.  
  
Akari’s eyes sparkled beneath her visor. This daring, motorcycle-riding duelist was a woman? Amazing. She felt an admiring smile tug at her lips, before she re-registered the seriousness of the situation. The woman’s eyes were still closed and her poised face showed a grimace of pain.  
  
The man in the tuxedo shook her shoulders. “Talk to me,” he said in an impossibly deep voice. “Say something. You’re alright, aren’t you?”  
  
The white rider coughed. She opened her eyes, revealing two large jade-green gems that Akari tried to lean closer to see.  
  
“I’m fine.” The rider coughed again, looking at the man with an urgent expression. Her eyes shone with anger. “I’m fine, Mizoguchi. Don’t worry about me. Go after him!”  
  
The man hesitated but rose to a standing position. “Miss, are you absolutely sure---”  
  
“I’m fine!” The white rider was yelling now, jabbing her finger in the direction the other duelist had gone. “That one might have some information for us, go after him! Now!”  
  
Immediately, the man put his helmet on with robot-like precision. He got back on his vehicle and sped quickly after the other duelist, leaving the white rider in the dust once more.  
  
The injured woman rolled her shoulders, crying out in pain as some bones cracked loudly back into place. She leaned against the palms of hands, gripping the street in her white riding gloves, trying to swing her legs out so that she could stand... This resulted in another cry of pain. This one broke at the end into a heartfelt sob, though Akari saw no tears.  
  
Deciding it was time to move into action, Akari re-started her bike and pulled up alongside the white rider. She heard a voice in the back of her mind telling her not to get involved; after all, this was a new dimension and there was the first rule to consider---But hell no! Akari pushed the voice away. This was an emergency situation! That poor, brave woman was obviously hurt.  
  
The white rider heard the engine of Akari’s motorcycle as she approached. Startled, the woman curled in on herself slightly, as if to protect her wounded parts. The unguarded surprise on her face melted into cold rage and mistrust once Akari got off her bike.  
  
Green eyes ran over Akari’s features as Akari took off her helmet without thinking. She did not bother to fix her hair as she knelt beside the white rider.  
  
Moving farther away from her, the white rider spat out, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”  
  
“No time for all that now!” Akari said, exasperated. She held her hands palms up. “Look, I’m not here to hurt you. Let me see your shoulder, I want to help--”  
  
“But who are you, exactly?” The woman rider’s eyes narrowed into suspicion, but her immediate rage seemed to subside once she heard Akari’s voice. Akari sounded young, but direct, as if she had nothing to hide besides her honest worry.  
  
“I’m...” Akari trailed off. _Remember the first rule..._ “I’m no one, alright? I just...saw the duel and the crash and...I mean, you took a hard hit! Are you alright?”  
  
The white rider’s eyes searched Akari’s face. Once she was satisfied, she turned her head away in frustration. “I’m fine. This is far from the first time I’ve been thrown from my bike. My only regret is that he got away...”  
  
Shifting back onto her palms, the rider tried to stand again. This time, she grunted and attempted to push through the pain. Each one of her limbs shook with the effort.  
  
“Hey, stop! Don’t try to stand yet!” Akari moved closer, but she did not know where to put her hands to support the rider.  
  
So, she hesitated for a moment, arms outstretched, looking all over the white rider’s body for a place to hold onto. The tight riding clothes clung to each curve of the woman’s body and even though she was vulnerable with pain, the innate power in those outlined muscles made Akari’s eyes go wide. This woman looked unbelievably lithe, like a jungle cat ready to pounce... Before Akari knew it, her cheeks were red.  
  
What the hell was she doing anyway?  
  
“Here, let me help you,” Akari offered, swinging her arm underneath the rider’s good shoulder.  
  
For a minute the rider went completely stiff at being touched. When Akari tried to pull her up regardless, the rider gave in and leaned against Akari as she stood. Most of the rider’s weight rested on Akari--she weighed almost nothing, the reporter noted--and she grabbed onto both of Akari’s shoulders for a moment to steady herself.  
  
It was awkward. Akari found her face pushed up against the rider’s hair and her hands automatically held onto her waist to keep her steady. Akari panicked, but she dared not let go of the rider and risk her falling back to the ground. She just hoped the rider knew that she was not trying to feel her up...not that the rider was even thinking about that... But this close, Akari could not help but breathe in the rider’s scent. She smelled like flowers and warm sweat, an athletic smell mixed with refined beauty... It went straight to Akari’s head and for a moment she could not think clearly.  
  
The rider grunted in pain, trying to put weight on her wounded leg. Akari caught her immediately before she lost her balance. Shaking her head clear of any distractions, Akari held onto her tightly and dragged her over to the side of road. Conveniently, there was a park bench a few feet away that overlooked the river running through Neo Domino City. With the rider hobbling and Akari half-carrying her, they slowly made their way to the bench.  
  
Akari sat the rider down with a heaving sigh. “Well,” she began. “At least you’re sitting on a bench now.”  
  
The rider was panting and sweating. Her face had become unreadable. She gazed over at her crashed motorcycle.  
  
“My D-wheel...” she said softly.  
  
Akari followed the rider’s gaze and saw the sorry state of her bike. “I’ll check it out,” she said, truly feeling the rider’s pain. Akari knew what it felt like to trash a bike--she had had more than her fair share of scrape-ups, especially when she was first learning to ride.  
  
The reporter grabbed the handlebars of the fallen bike, attempting to right the bike back on its wheels. It took more effort than Akari had anticipated; this rider’s bike was a lot heavier than Akari’s own small, light rig. No wonder that woman had so many muscles, you had to be strong to control a bike this heavy.  
  
Once the bike was finally on its wheels again, Akari looked it over quickly. The paint job was unfortunately scratched in many places, the left muffler had a bit of a dent, but it looked like nothing internal had been damaged. As Akari checked the gauges, one of them was cracked, she could not help but marvel at the engineering that had created a motorcycle capable of playing duel monsters. Fascinating...  
  
“Well?” the rider called from where she sat, stretching out her injured leg.  
  
“Uh, it looks...okay. You’re going to need a new paint job, and one of these gauges is out of whack, but overall I think it’s okay to ride for now.”  
  
“Good.” Immediately, the rider attempted to stand again, having finished taking stock of her injuries.  
  
“Whoa, whoa!” Akari ran over to her side. Without thinking, she put her hands lightly on the rider’s shoulders, trying to stop her from getting up. “Don’t try to move around too much! What’s your hurry, anyway?”  
  
“I...can’t stay here,” the rider said. She tried to swat Akari’s hands away, but the reporter kept bringing her hands back up to hold the rider in place.  
  
The woman rider grunted in frustration. “Let me go!” she growled, turning her face upwards to meet Akari.  
  
At the sight of the woman’s face, Akari almost forgot herself. Those green eyes shone with unadulterated rage, the frustration at her situation clearly apparent and honed in entirely on Akari. For a moment, the reporter felt very small, pinned by two jade crystals intent on destroying her....  
  
...But then she remembered exactly what she was doing here. This woman was not part of Akari’s job or mission--in fact, helping her was a breech of protocol! Yet, this prissy duelist was trying to scorn her all the same, as if Akari were doing her no favor. That was rude, and also very foolish. Akari had no patience for it.  
  
“Enough nonsense!” Now, Akari forcefully pushed the rider back down onto the bench. Unprepared for that, the rider had no choice but to sit, losing what little balance she had.  
  
“Stop trying to be tough and just...take a second!” Akari stood over the rider with her hands on her hips. She glared down at the woman with her own serious face, usually reserved for Yuma when he was being stupid. “Stay down before you fall down.”  
  
The rider looked up at Akari with wide eyes, taken aback by Akari’s sudden toughness. Then the woman remembered herself and looked away. She folded her arms across her chest defensively. “Hmph.”  
  
“That’s better,” Akari said. She let her gaze soften a little, reigning herself in. With an exasperated sigh, she sat down next to the rider.  
  
For a moment the both of them just sat in silence. Then Akari thought again about trying to seek medical attention. After all, they could not sit around forever...  
  
Alright. Time to get serious. Akari tapped into everything she knew about medical stuff, gathering all her knowledge and telling herself that she could fix this somehow.  
  
“Where does it hurt the most?” Akari asked, turning around to inspect the rider’s body.  
  
She grabbed the woman’s injured arm and turned it over once at the forearm, slowly, to see if that hurt. The woman did not cry out. Good sign. She squeezed lightly up the woman’s arm, resting the limb between her hands as if it were a precious, delicate thing that she was squeezing the hell out of for some reason.  
  
When she reached the shoulder, the woman cried out in pain. She was still looking away, not meeting Akari’s gaze. She shut her mouth quickly after crying out, trying to cover up her reaction.  
  
“Here?” Akari asked. “So just the shoulder then?”  
  
Remembering an article she read once, Akari thought to check if the arm was dislocated, out of its socket or something. She squeezed lightly on the rider’s shoulder, trying to see if the arm would move around if she pulled on it. That...probably made sense...  
  
“...It’s not dislocated.” The rider’s voice startled Akari out of her inspection. “The bones don’t feel broken either. I think it’s just bruised.”  
  
The woman was looking in her direction now with hooded eyes. She still did not meet Akari’s gaze.  
  
“Are you sure? That sounded like it really hurts.”  
  
The rider shook her head. “No...I can still move it.” To demonstrate, the woman rolled her shoulder again. No cry of pain. “It will probably be sore for a few days, I imagine.”  
  
The more the woman moved her shoulder without crying out, even if she was moving slowly, the better Akari felt about it. “Alright, well what about your leg then?”  
  
At that, the woman stopped moving. “Let’s see,” she said.  
  
Then, the woman brought her knee up and hugged it against her chest. Some bones popped as she did so, making Akari cringe in sympathy. But the woman gritted her teeth and shifted from side to side, stretching out the muscles there. When she was done, she rested her foot against the ground and tested some weight on it.  
  
“My knee bore most of the impact when I landed,” the woman explained. “But it is also not dislocated. I think it’s just bruised. My foot and my shin are both fine.”  
  
The way she talked... Akari marveled for a second. This woman spoke eloquently and with a hint of an accent from somewhere the reporter could not identify. There was also a kind of hypnotic quality to her voice, deeper than most women’s to be sure, but the timbre of it was undoubtedly feminine in an elegant way. Akari could not help but be slightly mystified.  
  
“So...” Akari began again, catching her thoughts. “You’re sure you don’t need to go to the hospital or anything?”  
  
“Tch.” The woman tossed her hair back and glanced sharply at Akari. “Don’t waste my time.”  
  
With that, the rider planted her palms firmly on the bench to try and hoist herself to her feet. Before she did so, she paused for a moment and looked back at Akari. There was a strange, almost shy look in her eyes.  
  
“I’m...going to stand now.”  
  
Akari had no intention of stopping her this time, but she appreciated being considered. “Alright, fine. But what will you do next?”  
  
“I’m going.” Saying nothing else, the woman struggled to her feet. Once she was firmly on the ground, she began to walk away.  
  
Panicking, Akari jumped to her feet. “Wait but where are you going?”  
  
The woman ignored the comment and ambled over to where her helmet lay discarded in the street. She inspected it for dents, straightening the mouthpiece that looked like a knight’s visor.  
  
“That’s a nice helmet, by the way,” Akari said, noticing its design for the first time. “Also, I thought the way you dueled out there was pretty incredible. But it’s so dangerous! Aren’t you scared to ride backwards like that, just for the sake of a duel?”  
  
Holding her helmet between her hands, the woman looked back over at Akari. Her face had again turned cold and unreadable.  
  
“I suppose...you have not seen many riding duels. That’s what you do in a riding duel.” She stated the facts as if they were obvious.  
  
“Oh.” Akari scratched the back of her head. “Riding duels, huh? Yeah, I haven’t seen too many of those, I guess.” Today was the first time, of course, but she had to try to blend in here.  
  
“Hmm. Where...are you from?” The woman had turned to face Akari fully now, helmet tucked under her arm. She wore an inquisitive expression on her face.  
  
Akari laughed nervously. “Is it that obvious I’m an out-of-towner?”  
  
The rider did not laugh. “Yes it is. Riding duels are a part of life here, everyone has seen them at one point or another. So that means you’re not from around here.”  
  
“Right.” Akari sighed. Time to bluff up a storm. “Well, like I said, I’m from out of town. This is my first time in Neo Domino City. They don’t have too many riding duels where I’m from, but there is a lot of dueling, so I know that much.”  
  
“Are you a duelist, then?”  
  
“No, not really. But it’s...hard to avoid, you know?” Did that even make sense? Akari felt like she was starting to babble. Lying was not her thing.  
  
Surprisingly, the rider nodded. “I see. Actually, I’m not from Neo Domino City either. Now I’m here because I need to be.” The woman looked down for a moment. Then she met Akari’s gaze again, clearer than before. “Well. Good luck on your travels.”  
  
“Thanks, but I’m still waiting for you to tell me where you’re headed. I can’t walk away until I know you’re not running off into another riding duel or something, about to knock yourself around again.”  
  
“And how is that your business?” The woman tilted her head to one side. Her voice sounded angry, but her face looked amused. She was clearly smirking.  
  
Akari shrugged, smiling back. “I guess I’m making it my business right now.”  
  
The rider’s smirk turned into a sideways smile. Strangely, smiling almost did not suit her. It seemed out of place on her face. But Akari liked seeing her smile all the same, even if the sight was a little unnerving.  
  
“I can’t tell if that’s chivalry or...” The women trailed off. “...But you’re a woman, so, I don’t know.”  
  
Akari frowned. “...What?”  
  
“I suppose your actions are selfless. Unless you have some other motive I should know about?” Now the woman was smiling broadly.  
  
Akari’s frown deepened. “I’m sorry, I’m not really following what you’re saying. But...I don’t have any weird motives, if that’s what you’re asking. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”  
  
The woman nodded. “I accept that. You have...an honest voice. So I’ll be honest as well.  I’m going home now, or at least, to the place that I call home here in Neo Domino. Mizoguchi, my companion, will meet me there most likely. That is, if he has any success following that thing I just dueled.”  
  
“Got it. So the least I could do is make sure you get home alright.” Akari felt satisfied with this arrangement, enough to clear her conscience that the woman was not seriously hurt.  
  
“So you’re going to follow me, then?”  
  
“Absolutely. But only until you get home. If that’s...any better...” Akari glanced away, her confidence wavering for a moment. Was she being weird? All of this was outside of inter-dimensional protocol anyway, which was bad...  
  
The rider laughed lowly, only for a second. Akari was startled out of her thoughts by the sound.  
  
“I see,” the woman began. “So. Who did you say you were again?”  
  
“I’m--well, I’m...” _Rule number one. Rule number one!_ Akari shook her head. “My name is Tsukumo Akari. It’s nice to meet you. And you’re name is...?”  
  
“Sherry. LeBlanc.” The woman turned around and began to put her helmet on. Before it covered her mouth she said, “I suppose you can follow me if you feel you must.”  
  
Then she covered her face with her helmet, effectively ending all conversation. She sauntered over to her dented, scraped bike and immediately brought it to life. Akari hurried over to her own bike so she could follow her.  
  
Akari found she could barely move fast enough. Sherry was already speeding past her before the reporter could even start her engine.  
  
“What’s the rush...” Akari grumbled, peeling off to follow this woman, Sherry LeBlanc, to whatever place she had in mind.  
  



	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immediately follows part one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some warnings, I've abandoned reason for madness once again, so this chapter has explicit sex and a bunch of other great things that you hopefully enjoy as much as I do.

Following Sherry was harder, and scarier, than Akari had anticipated. The woman took all kinds of risks on the roads, things Akari would never dream of doing (unless in an absolute emergency...let’s face it, Akari herself had done a ton of dangerous stuff in the past, all things she would do again if she had to).  
  
While they were riding, Akari noticed a few riding duels happening along the sidelines. She hoped they were all friendly. The sight of duel in motion was fascinating, but Akari shook her head at the thought of how often people must injure themselves dueling. Wasn’t the game dangerous enough already, why add motorcycles to the fray? (Still, seeing a few duelists riding backwards made Akari break out into goosebumps. Maybe one day she would learn how to do that...)  
  
Finally, Sherry pulled up to an extravagant-looking building, not quite tall enough to be called a skyscraper. She drove down into the lane set aside for the parking garage. Akari trailed after her, pulling up alongside Sherry in the garage and parking her bike next to hers.  
  
Sherry was already standing. She took off her helmet and surveyed Akari out of the corner of her eye.  
  
“That was some pretty dangerous driving, don’t you think?” Akari asked loudly once she had taken off her helmet. She straightened her ponytail and tried to smooth down any stray hairs that had fallen in her face during the ride.  
  
“Dangerous how?” Sherry asked, still only looking at the reporter in the periphery.  
  
Akari spit out a hair that had snuck into her mouth. “Uh, I don’t know, do you always ride the white-line like that? Also, does a red light still mean stop in this town or...?”  
  
Sherry said nothing. Instead she sauntered over to Akari’s bike and ran her hand along the handlebars. Akari trailed off as she watched the woman take stock of her mostly beat up ride. Suddenly self-conscious, Akari thought to make excuses for how she had not had the money for any proper repairs and instead had done all the work herself with whatever she had around...  
  
“Is this your D-wheel?” Sherry asked, peering curiously at the gauges.  
  
“Uh...it’s not...that? It’s just a bike.” Hadn’t Akari already explained that she knew nothing about riding duels?  
  
“I see. Well. This thing looks more dangerous than anything I own.” Dismissively, Sherry began walking towards the garage exit.  
  
“Hey! She’s not...this bike is not dangerous!” In defense, Akari had almost called her bike by the name she made up for it, which would have been awkward. She stormed after Sherry. “Sure, it’s not the most sturdy rig out there, but we’ve been through a lot together, more than I can even tell you...”  
  
While Akari fired off lists of reasons why her bike was totally fine, Sherry led them both to an elevator that brought them to the twenty-fifth floor. Wordlessly, saying nothing to Akari’s arguments, she pulled a key from her body armor pocket and unlocked a door on the far side of the hallway.  
  
They walked into the room together. When Sherry flicked on the lights, Akari went speechless for a moment. She had not expected a place nearly this spacious or chic...was this where Sherry lived?  
  
“So,” Akari began. “This is where you call home?”  
  
“Yes it is.”  
  
Sherry walked ahead, into a wide open space with couches that could be called a living room. She threw her helmet down, shook out her hair, and turned to face Akari. With her hands on her hips and her green eyes flashing, silhouetted by the large window behind her, Sherry looked like an immovable force all of her own.  
  
“Miss Tsukumo.” Sherry brought her voice even lower. The sound shocked Akari slightly. “Do I need to inform you that you have now followed me all the way up to my hotel room and invited yourself in?”  
  
“This is a hotel room?” Akari asked in disbelief.  
  
Sherry said nothing, remaining stock still across the room.  
  
Registering what the woman meant, Akari blushed deeply. She groped for the doorknob behind her and tried to think of a way to make a less awkward exit.  
  
“Uh, right, well...I’ll be going, it looks like you’re okay now, I think, right? Heh...” Where was that doorknob?  
  
“Yes, I’m fine. But let me ask you, where are you staying while you’re in Neo Domino City?”  
  
“What?” Akari turned back to Sherry, who had dropped her hands but still managed to look fairly intimidating all the same. The reporter felt like she needed to answer.  
  
“Well, I’m staying at...uh...” What was the point in lying? Akari broke out into a huge smile and held up one finger. “Actually, I haven’t figured that out yet! But I will. The day is still young, plenty of places for someone like me to lay down for a night...”  
  
“You have not booked a room somewhere?” Sherry asked, her face gathering into a frown.  
  
Akari did not like the look of that. “Not yet. But it can’t be too hard, right?”  
  
“No, but...” Sherry looked away for a moment. “Well, I know what it’s like to find yourself in a new place, no familiar lifelines to rely on. And...you helped me before, so...”  
  
The woman looked back at Akari. Her face seemed laced with pain, but not the same as when she crashed up. This time it seemed she was hurting from the inside out. Akari wanted to run over to her again and smooth away whatever pained her. _Tell me, where does it hurt?_ she thought.  
  
Still, Sherry spoke with practiced perfection. She sounded just as elegant as always. “I did not thank you for helping me earlier. Would you like to stay here for the night, or until you find somewhere else to stay?”  
  
For a moment, Akari was stunned into silence. So many thoughts swam through her head. Who was this woman, really? What drove her forward so relentlessly? Should Akari accept her offer...?  
  
The reporter shook her head to clear it of any distractions. Here she was in a totally different dimension. She would have to go with the flow here...what was it her brother was always saying? Feel the flow? Yeah, that.  
  
“Well, that’s very kind of you! How could I say no to that?” Akari said, plastering a bright, fake smile on her face. “This place is amazing! I hope it’s not too much trouble, though.”  
  
Sherry shook her head. Her face broke out into a small, almost legitimate smile. “Not at all, I assure you. Please, make yourself at home.”  
  
Slowly, Akari moved into the room. She bent over to put her helmet next to Sherry’s. When she straightened up, she felt eyes on her back. Looking behind her, she saw that Sherry was staring at her, had been staring at her the whole time. Akari watched in disbelief as the woman’s eyes roamed up and down Akari’s whole form, settling decidedly below the waist...on the posterior portion of her figure...  
  
Pushing away any shock, Akari smirked and let Sherry stare at her ass for a few seconds. Hell, she knew she had a nice butt. Her own all-black riding clothes only helped things. She bent over again to straighten her helmet, even though she did not entirely need to... A glance backwards showed her that Sherry’s eyes were still glued to her body and had grown rather large as she took in the sight...  
  
Alright, enough games.  
  
Akari straightened and cleared her throat. “So! Do you have you anything for me to change into? I didn’t bring any spare clothes with me...”  
  
Hearing her voice, Sherry flinched and shook her head, clearly snapping out of whatever reverie she had been having. A light pink blush crept onto her cheeks as the woman turned away.  
  
That blush was adorable! Akari brightened immediately when she saw it. She was definitely feeling the flow now.  
  
“You...said you have no spare clothes?” Sherry asked, forcing the words out without making eye contact. “How can you travel with no clothes?”  
  
“Well, I...like to travel light! Nothing wrong with that, is there?” Actually, it had been a matter of necessary weight-balance for the portal controls that had forced Akari not to bring any luggage. The scientists told her she could just buy clothes when she got there, no need to risk throwing off the counter-balance systems or whatever.  
  
“So light that you have nothing but the clothes on your back?” Sherry asked, turning her face in Akari’s direction. Her blush had faded.  
  
“Yeah.” Akari shrugged and dropped herself down onto the couch. “Sometimes you just have to pick up and go, you know? No time to pack.”  
  
“I know,” Sherry growled, her voice lower than Akari had ever heard.  
  
“Yeah...so...that’s what happened...” What was the deal with that tone? It worried Akari.  
  
“Hmph.” Sherry stormed off into a side room. Akari heard the woman rummage through drawers loudly.  
  
“Man, what did I say?” Akari muttered to herself. This woman was turning into more and more of a mystery.  
  
When Sherry returned, she threw a fistful of clothes in Akari’s direction. Almost indignantly, Akari shook them out to see what she was being offered. It looked like an oversized peach-colored button-down shirt and loose black shorts probably meant for running. It would work. She turned around to thank Sherry but the woman was already gone. Akari twisted her head back and forth to find her, when she heard a door slam somewhere in the back of the apartment. A few seconds later she heard a shower turn on. Apparently Sherry had decided to take a shower.  
  
“Alright, you’re upset, I might as well get comfortable then.” Akari sighed.  
  
She wiggled out of her riding gear and changed into the clothes Sherry gave her. Of course, she had no doubt these clothes were loose-fitting on Sherry, but Akari found the button-down pulled at her hips, stretching the bottom buttons out too wide. Well, that figured. She had hips to spare, after all. Whatever, Akari just left the bottom of the shirt unbuttoned. A small triangle of bare flesh peeked out as a result, but so what. It looked less ridiculous than having the buttons snap open against her will. As for the pants, there was a moment of panic when Akari thought they would not fit over her thighs and waist, but then the elastic stretched miraculously wider and she was able to pull them on comfortably.  
   
Finally dressed, Akari looked around the apartment. She had a wonderful view of the city from the window, so she snapped a few photos for her scoop. Oh man, she had so many things to write about. Should she mention Sherry in the article? “Beautiful woman dares to ride--and dares to duel!” the headline would read. Or something like that.  
  
Done with that, Akari still heard the shower going. She was thirsty and a little hungry, so she decided to look through the kitchen. Sherry, probably, would not mind. In that case, Akari began opening cabinets and drawers, trying to find something simple to make for herself. Preparing food seemed a little too forward, so she settled on brewing some tea which she found in one of the cabinets. There were a few choices, and all of the labels on the tea boxes were written in a foreign language Akari could not recognize. Letting her gut decide, Akari picked one with flowers and oranges on the front.  
  
She brewed two cups of tea. Maybe Sherry would want some when she was done with her shower. The tea had brewed and already started to steep by the time Sherry emerged from the back room.  
  
Akari was flipping through her video phone, sending a message to the scientists back home that she was safe and sound, in pursuit of a fascinating scoop. She heard padded footsteps approaching and quickly tucked away her video phone. Probably better not to expose any future-age technology from another dimension...  
  
The reporter latched onto the teapot to look busy. Casually, she glanced up in Sherry’s direction.  
  
“I made you some---”  
  
The sight before her stopped her dead in her tracks. Sherry had entered the kitchen, her hair dripping wet from the shower and flowing straight down her back in a solid sheet. She wore only a light nightgown--an actual nightgown. It looked like it could have been made for a kid, if not for the fact that it was clearly an adult-size garment. But did anyone really wear nightgowns in their adult years? It was sleeveless, light purple, and went down to Sherry’s knees. It even had a tiny bow at the modest neckline, a throwback to youth.  
  
And even though the nightgown was improbable for someone like Sherry, who Akari had read as a fierce, determined woman, she still looked unbelievably sexy in it. The light fabric hung loosely around her form, as if whispering of the gorgeous secret of Sherry’s body, hidden beneath the gown.  
  
Akari forcefully brought herself back to reality. Sherry was staring at her, waiting for her to continue.  
  
“Uh, that’s...I made you some tea.”  
  
Sherry’s gaze slid over to counter where her teacup rested. For a moment she just stared. Then she said, “Which box did you use?”  
  
Akari showed her the box.  
  
“ _Lilas et clémentine_...” Sherry said softly, speaking in a language Akari had never heard before.  
  
Then the woman smiled. “It’s my favorite,” she said, gracefully swinging onto the stool seat at the counter. She picked up her cup and blew on it delicately, chasing away some of the steam gathering at the top.  
  
Akari smiled back. _Picked your favorite tea,_ she thought. _Score one for Akari!_  
  
“Glad you like it,” Akari said aloud. “I love tea after a long day, don’t you?”  
  
Sherry nodded. “I do. It’s very calming. Clears my mind.”  
  
For a moment the two of them sipped their tea in silence. Akari tried not to stare at Sherry, but every once in a while she glanced over at her, as if her eyes had a mind of their own. Sherry looked contemplative, eyes unfocused, staring off at something only she could see. Once, Sherry caught Akari’s gaze, startling the reporter into a panic.  
  
Then, Akari decided not to look away. Why should she? It was just the two of them there, just two young women, sharing a cup of tea. So instead, Akari held her gaze and gave her a small smile. She hoped she looked inviting and relaxed, wanting Sherry to stare at her for a little while longer.  
  
Sherry silently stared back for a few moments, eventually turning her body until they were face to face.  
  
“There’s something about you,” Sherry started to say. “I imagine I’ll always think of you now when I have this tea.”  
  
Akari visibly brightened. “Really?”  
  
Sherry nodded. “Yes. Lilac, like your eyes. And the citrus flavor reminds me of you, sweet and sharp. Hmm...”  
  
When the woman trailed off, Akari took the opportunity to return the favor. “Well I’ll never forget you either, I’m sure. I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re kind of mysterious, you know that?”  
  
“What do you mean?” Sherry asked, but her eyes betrayed the fact that she already had an idea.  
  
“Well, it just seems like there’s always something on your mind. Like you’re thinking about something that happened already, or maybe something that hasn’t happened yet? I can’t tell.”  
  
“Hmm.”  
  
Akari tilted her head at the response. Sherry just sipped her tea in silence.  
  
“So, which is it?” Akari asked. “What is actually on your mind? And...can I help?”  
  
In truth, that last question was most important to Akari.  
  
Sherry put her cup down and folded her hands. It felt strangely aggressive for such a small action. “You know nothing. I doubt you can help.”  
  
“Alright...” Akari began slowly, trying to keep her anger in check. “But I’d still like to know what’s bothering you, if you don’t mind telling me.”  
  
Sherry’s green eyes honed in on Akari again, a biting glare. “Why do you think you deserve to know something like that?”  
  
Akari shrugged. “I guess I don’t. But, my grandmother always tells me not to keep things bottled up inside. She says it’s better to get things off your chest and move on, otherwise they start to eat you up.”  
  
Akari paused for a minute and drained the rest of her cup. “You see, my parents disappeared when I was young. It...was hard. Especially at first. My grandmother was the one taking care of me and my kid brother. At the time, she said that whatever we were feeling was important, not something to be kept under wraps.”  
  
Looking up at Sherry, Akari could tell that the woman was listening keenly. “So, we talked. A lot. My brother Yuma, my grandmother, and I...we talked a lot. In fact, I think we almost talked too much--people say we’re too open about our feelings. But, in a way I think that’s healthy. I never regret anything I say or do because it comes straight from my heart. You know what I mean?”  
  
Sherry glanced downward. For her part, Sherry felt mystified by Akari’s confession. She had not expected to hear something so personal so quickly, besides the fact that she was the exact opposite when it came to her feelings. Everything that had happened to Sherry in her life, she kept all of it inside so that no one could use it against her as a leverage point. But then...she began to think about what Akari said. Did keeping everything inside make it all the more painful in the end?  
  
“You said your parents...disappeared?” Sherry asked at last, tucking her thumb inside her own fist and squeezing it, an anxious habit.  
  
“That’s right,” Akari said, nodding. “They were explorers. One day they just never came back. We still...haven't found them.” (Probably better not to talk about Astral World, no need to start a conversation about other dimensions.)

  
Akari looked towards the window, gazing out at the unfamiliar town. “I like to think that they’re happy wherever they are---just missing us, you know? But...in reality I know that’s...not likely.”  
  
“At least you have hope,” Sherry replied. “Hope is important. And I...don’t have that luxury...”  
  
“No?” Akari said, turning around to face Sherry with a concerned look.  
  
Sherry shook her head. “My parents...died when I was a young girl. They were killed by a shadow organization called Yliaster. I think that they meant to kill me as well but I’ve avoided them so far. I’ve spent my entire life trying to find out who they are, why they want my family dead...and also for revenge.”  
  
Sherry stared coldly into her cooling tea, glaring at her own reflection. “I think I’m going to kill them when I find them.”    
  
Silence settled over the room. Akari’s jaw hung open. She had never heard of anyone being...murdered before. And here was this woman, a stranger she had just run into, plotting a murder against some people?  
  
Not good. Akari felt honest fear creep into her. Here she was in a new dimension, totally alone with a woman who felt like murder was a good idea. That was pretty bad, as all things went.  
  
But then...when Akari looked at Sherry, she did not think the woman felt good about any of it. Was she capable of murder? Probably. Everyone was if they were pushed to it, Akari was not so naive that she didn’t think that was true. Yes, Sherry could probably kill someone. But...the woman looked like the idea alone was destroying her, like her need for revenge had forced her to become a different person. It seemed Sherry had sold her own self to the cause.  
  
Needless to say, Akari felt how overwhelming sad that was. She could not think about anything else and she forgot to be scared. Instead, Akari just reached out and laid her hand on top of Sherry’s clenched fist.  
  
The woman jumped when she was touched. Her mind had wandered off again, and she was not expecting the calm warmth from Akari’s hand to touch hers... Sherry stared where Akari’s hand rested on top of her own.  
  
“Just know, Sherry,” Akari began in a soft voice. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You have choices.”  
  
“Tch,” Sherry replied coldly. But she kept staring at their hands. The warmth crept slowly outwards, running up her arm... “What choices do I have?”  
  
“You have a lot of choices, actually.” Akari brought her other hand up so she could hold Sherry’s hand between both of hers.  
  
Sherry marveled at the way Akari held her hand like it was a delicate thing, or maybe something precious. She wanted to smirk, it seemed very silly to her, but then Akari began stroking the back of Sherry’s hand ever so slightly, with just her fingertips. The contact was so soft, so unobtrusive, but it was very bold. Akari was clearly showing her support for Sherry, without words, even though it was a foolish thing to support someone who admitted that they might one day become a killer.  
  
Still, the gentleness of that touch ran straight to Sherry’s core. Knowing that Akari was not judging her, even though she probably should, feeling the young woman’s definite presence there...it made Sherry tremble. She felt like Akari was stroking her very soul.  
  
Letting out a shaky breath, Sherry closed her eyes.  
  
Akari noticed that Sherry was shaking. She brought her hand up to the woman’s face and stroked her cheek softly. Sherry sighed breathily in response.  
  
“Are you alright, Sherry?” Akari asked.  
  
At that, the woman opened her eyes. She grabbed Akari’s hand lightly and took it away from her face.  
  
“I’m fine,” she said. “Come...with me.”  
  
Still holding onto her hand, Sherry pulled Akari away from the kitchen, leading her farther down the hall into a room that was clearly a bedroom. Akari was not afraid at all, still, but her heart raced when she realized they were in Sherry’s actual bedroom. Not that the reporter minded. She felt her pulse beating strongly throughout her whole body, especially between her legs... Yes, she was down for whatever Sherry wanted from her here. Had been down since the moment she laid eyes on her earlier that day.  
  
Instead of walking to the bed, Sherry went straight to her dresser. There was a child’s teddy bear sitting on top of the furniture and Sherry took it down. For a moment, Akari just watched in disbelief as Sherry clutched onto the teddy bear, of all things. Then Sherry turned the bear around. Reaching inside of it, she pulled out a duel monsters card.  
  
“This is the last thing my parents ever gave me,” Sherry explained, showing her the card.  
  
Akari moved closer until she was right next to Sherry. She inspected the duel monsters card. It looked sort of pretty, Akari had no mind for dueling so she could not tell if it was a strong card or what, but it was obviously very important to Sherry.  
  
“I see,” Akari said, nodding. She did not know what Sherry wanted her to do with this information, but she wrapped her hand around Sherry’s where the woman held onto the card, stroking her with her thumb.  
  
The moment was tense, but brief. Sherry seemed to sob, dropping the teddy bear onto the ground and squeezing the duel monsters card a little too tightly.  
  
“I’m...sorry,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m showing you this.”  
  
“It’s alright,” Akari said softly, putting her other hand on Sherry’s shoulder. “You don’t have to explain.”  
  
“No, but I...” Sherry closed her eyes. “This card is an important part of who I am. It’s almost like a piece of my soul. I...wanted to show it to you and...I wanted you to see it.”  
  
Akari understood. Sherry was baring herself to Akari in a small way by showing her this card, leaving herself vulnerable.  
  
“I get it,” Akari said. “This card is your last memory of your parents and that makes it very special.” She ran her hand through Sherry’s hair soothingly. “I see, Sherry, I know what you mean.”  
  
Sherry put the card on the dresser and faced Akari. “I want to...” Sherry stopped, her green eyes glistening with some emotion she was trying not to let escape. “I don’t know why, but I...want to show you everything...”  
  
Akari heard that. She knew what to do, even if it was very much against rule number one. But to hell with all that.  
  
Holding Sherry’s face in her hand, Akari leaned forward and kissed her. It was soft at first, just a gentle meeting of lips. Then Akari put more force into it, moving her lips against Sherry’s, completely enthralled at how soft and pliable this woman’s mouth was, how she tasted like the tea from before and a little like something else that was entirely unique. She could have gone on forever, but then Sherry broke away with a quiet moan.  
  
The woman rested her forehead against Akari’s, breathing heavily. “What are we doing?” she whispered.  
  
Akari giggled. “It’s alright. Let me take care of you. That’s what I came here to do, right?”  
  
So true. Was there ever any other mission? Akari was certain that none of that other stuff could be important. Not when put next to Sherry, the beautiful woman shaking in her hands from nothing more than brief kissing and light touches.  
  
“Come over here,” Akari said casually, leading Sherry by the hand over to the bed.  
  
They sat next each other, side by side and face to face. Wasting no time, Akari began kissing her again, with increasing passion. The reporter moved her hand from Sherry’s face to her shoulders, then downward to wrap around her delicate waist. With her other hand, Akari stroked Sherry’s neck, then to her neckline, then slowly down to her breast, which she cupped lightly. Akari squeezed softly with undisguised enjoyment.  
  
“God, yes,” Akari whispered, completely turned on by the glorious feel of Sherry’s breast in her hand, even if it was still over clothing. She knew that she had always been more into girls than boys, but this...this was perfection. Akari rolled Sherry’s breast in her palm, seeking out the hardening nipple underneath and pressing down on it.  
  
Sherry moaned and grabbed Akari’s hands to stop her. She was still shaking, confusion written on her face.  
  
“I’ve...” Sherry began to say, realizing that Akari must have questions. “It’s just, I’ve never...”  
  
“Hey, it’s alright,” Akari said immediately. “We can go as slow as you want. In fact, we don’t even have to do this if you don’t want to--”  
  
“No, stop, that’s not I’m saying,” Sherry said, shaking her head fiercely. “I want to, but I’ve...never done anything like this before. With anyone.”  
  
Should she tell the whole truth? The fact that besides never having done anything with any man or woman, Sherry had never been especially attracted to anyone? Sure, she knew what it was like to masturbate, but, that was different. She had simply never been interested in any one person---until Akari, that very same day. The way Akari moved, her easy-going gait and self-assured posture, the way she talked and seemed to understand things, even though it made no sense... Sherry had felt something inside of her changing. She knew now what it felt like to want to touch and be touched, but she did not want it with anyone other than Akari.  
  
“Listen, that’s fine,” Akari said, leaning forward and laying soft kisses on Sherry’s fingers. “Just tell me what you want to do.”  
  
Sherry reached out with a shaking hand and touched Akari’s face.  
  
“It hurts that I barely know you,” she said, half smiling. “I badly want to be with you. I want everything... Will you...do that for me?”  
  
“What, everything?” Akari asked, kissing her on the cheek. Seeing that Sherry had no objections, Akari grinned broadly. “Sure I will.”  
  
So, Akari kissed her again, this time with as much passion as she could muster. She pushed Sherry backwards until they were both laying down, Akari laying mostly on top of her. She let her hands roam freely over Sherry’s neck and chest, frowning when she saw the dark, fresh bruises covering Sherry’s wounded shoulder. She brought her face down to the spot and lightly kissed the black and blue marks, wishing that she could heal them like this.  
  
Sherry moaned beneath her, twisting against the feel of kisses against the sensitive wounds, but trusting Akari not to be too forceful. She could not figure out why she trusted Akari so much, other than the fact that she simply had always trusted her since the second she found her laying in the street. And since then, Akari had done nothing but help her. The young woman was simply honest, more honest than anyone should be...and Sherry wanted her for that.  
  
Akari trailed her fingers across Sherry’s chest, cupping both her breasts with a quiet moan. She could do this all day. But there was more...  
  
Reaching down, Akari traced the hem of Sherry’s nightgown where it lay against her knees. “Can I take this off?” she asked bluntly.  
  
Sherry looked at her, eyes shimmering. She nodded.  
  
“Great,” Akari couldn’t help but say. With both hands, Akari tugged the nightgown upwards until she had exposed all of Sherry’s body underneath. With a sigh, she pulled the garment over the woman’s head and dropped it on the ground.  
  
Like this, Sherry was bare all except for her panties, a thin pair of white silk. Her breasts were in fact much larger than Akari had anticipated now that she could see them in all their beauty.  
  
“My god...” Akari whispered. “You are so...”  
  
But she had no words. Sherry was still shaking slightly and Akari wanted nothing but to calm her. So, she laid down on top of her again, this time planting kissing all along Sherry’s chest, rubbing her breasts soothingly, kissing the pliant flesh as much as she could.  
  
Sherry was panting, twisting one hand in the sheets while the other she brought down to the back of Akari’s head. She laced her fingers into Akari’s hair until she met resistance at Akari’s ponytail. Unhindered, Sherry pulled away the hair tie, causing Akari’s thick red hair to fly free and fall in heap against her shoulders. Enthralled, Sherry grabbed fistfuls of it just to hold, loving the way it felt against her hand.  
  
Akari felt a jolt of arousal at the way Sherry played with her hair. She moaned and sucked on one of Sherry’s hard nipples, licking and playing with the small nub like it was candy. Sherry’s whole body trembled at the sensation. Her head tilted back and her hips twitched upward out of instinct, bumping against Akari’s stomach awkwardly.  
  
“Does that feel good?” Akari asked, grinning. She squeezed and sucked Sherry’s breasts with renewed vigor until the woman cried out beneath her.  
  
“Miss Tsukumo!” Sherry cried, not sure if she could take any more.  
  
Akari lifted her head. “Come on, call me Akari already, ok?”  
  
“Akari...” Sherry said softly, as the afore mentioned girl licked the valley between her breasts.  
  
Very excited for the next part, Akari licked her way down Sherry’s stomach, lavishing attention on all the flesh her mouth could reach. She stopped when she came to Sherry’s panties. Just to tease, Akari licked once along the top hem and then quickly moved away.  
  
Sherry groaned, staring up at her with wide eyes.  
  
“Watch me for a second,” Akari said, unbuttoning her shirt. When she was finished, she threw the shirt down to join Sherry’s nightgown. Sherry ran her eyes all over Akari’s exposed breasts and torso.  
  
“You can touch me, you know,” Akari offered.  
  
Moving with lightning speed, Sherry sat up and began kissing Akari’s breasts, moaning lightly as she went. She buried her face between them, holding onto one while she licked the other.  
  
Akari could not take her eyes off the sight of Sherry letting herself go while she showered Akari with attention. It was an addicting sight, to be sure, and more than that, Sherry’s hands and mouth moved with such warm precision that Akari could not hold back a few moans of her own.  
  
“Alright,” Akari said eventually, pushing Sherry away gently.  
  
The woman looked up at Akari with her mouth still poised to continue kissing. Akari could not help herself when she saw that. She kissed that beautiful mouth one more time.  
  
Then she guided Sherry to lay back down. Flat on her back, Sherry reached up and stroked Akari’s shoulders. For a moment, she felt a sense of serenity, knowing that Akari was competent at this and comfortable around her. Comfortable in a way most people were not...  
  
Akari leaned over Sherry and kissed her delicate stomach lightly, swirling her tongue around her pelvis, licking along the hem of her panties again. Sherry was aching between her legs, longing for Akari’s gentle touch there. Unconsciously, she opened her legs wider to try to encourage Akari to move downward with her tongue.  
  
Seeing Sherry spread her legs slightly made Akari’s heart soar. So sweet. She bent down and kissed the woman’s parted thighs. Sherry moaned, quivering against the sensation of lips on that part of her body, so close to where she burned for contact.  
  
Pushing Sherry’s legs farther apart, Akari saw how Sherry had soaked through her panties. Some of the woman’s wetness had even started to smear along her thighs as well. Akari had never seen a sight like that before, someone so obviously and completely aroused. She was sympathetic---and actually, not in much of a better state herself at the moment.  
  
“Excited, huh?” Akari asked, trailing her fingers along some of the wetness on Sherry’s thighs.  
  
Sherry blushed a deep shade of pink. “I...don’t...it’s just...”  
  
Akari laughed lightly. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m the same way. See?” To demonstrate, Akari pushed her running shorts down so that she was in only her underwear as well. Her panties were also soaked and Sherry’s eyes widened at the sight, honing in on it with their usual intensity.  
  
Giggling, Akari slipped her fingers into the top of Sherry’s panties. Slowly, almost agonizingly slowly, she dragged the silk down Sherry’s legs and over her feet, tossing the soaked fabric onto the floor.  
  
Now Sherry was completely naked beneath her. Akari paused a moment to absorb the sight. She noticed that Sherry had squeezed her eyes shut.  
  
“Hey,” Akari said softly, running her hands along Sherry’s thighs. “It’s alright. Don’t close your eyes.”  
  
After twitching slightly at being touched, Sherry carefully opened her eyes again. She watched Akari’s head disappear between her thighs. Allowing herself to relax into the touch, she felt Akari’s fingers dragging across her legs until they came to the spot where she ached.  
  
Honestly, Akari was taking all the time in the world and she knew it. She twirled her finger in the wet curls of hair that covered Sherry’s cunt, reveling at the way Sherry trembled head to toe just from that.  
  
Akari wanted to see her. All of her.  
  
So, she held her thumbs on either side of Sherry’s outer lips and gently pulled them apart, exposing her wet, glorious vulva. She took in every detail of Sherry, her clit, her inner lips, every curve and contour of her beautiful, most secret place. Akari even noticed the way Sherry’s center seemed to twitch with unfulfilled desire as Akari continued to look at her.  
  
Sherry sat up slightly, breaking under the tension of being so exposed for so long. Akari was staring at a place Sherry had never shown to anyone before. The woman felt as if Akari had finally seen all there was to see of her, every corner of her body and soul. That thought aroused her even more and she moaned between gritted teeth.  
  
“Are you just going to stare at me?” Sherry said, close to tears now.  
  
“Yeah, for a little while,” Akari replied, without taking her eyes off of Sherry’s cunt. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”  
  
As Akari spoke, Sherry could feel her warm breath ghosting over her needy flesh. Helpless, she laid back down and fought against the desire to buck up into Akari’s face. She would try to hold out for as long as possible, holding onto as much dignity as she could...but how long would it last...?  
  
“Please Akari,” Sherry began when Akari held her open even wider, showing no signs of moving closer. “Please, touch me.”  
  
Akari decided that enough was enough. Sherry was clearly begging for it. Now all Akari wanted was to give Sherry everything she desired.  
  
Wordlessly, Akari dragged her tongue across Sherry’s aching cunt in one long stripe. The savory-sweet taste of her went straight to Akari’s head. So delicious.  
  
That first touch, feeling Akari’s velvety, hard tongue against her body, made Sherry fall apart. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she groaned loudly. She was already very close to climaxing, right at the edge. All it would take was a few more swipes of Akari’s tongue, just like that...  
  
“Oh god, Akari...please...don’t stop...”  
  
Hearing her words, Akari began lapping steadily at Sherry. She loved the taste and she knew exactly what it was doing to her beautiful lover, so Akari kept focused on doing all the right things with her tongue.  
  
Sherry’s hips started moving in tandem with Akari’s mouth, but the woman was unaware of it. Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out, such exquisite, wonderful torture.  
  
“Ah, feels so good...” she said absentmindedly. “Ah ah... _mon dieu_...Akari, don’t stop, so close...I can’t, I’m---”  
  
Sherry came hard, fisting the sheets and grunting between gritted teeth. Tears sprang to her eyes as she peaked again shortly after, her hips twitching out of control.  
  
“Akari...Akari...” Sherry cried softly as her orgasm faded. Somehow at the end she was actually sobbing slightly, though Sherry was far from sad. She felt as if she had achieved perfect joy, if only for a moment.  
  
Knowing automatically what to do, Akari laid down alongside Sherry and wrapped her in her arms. Kissing the side of her face, Akari whispered, “It’s alright, I’ve got you. You’re fine, we’re both fine.”  
  
Sherry’s sobs turned into teary laughter. “I know,” she replied between giggles. “I know.”  
  
They held each other tenderly through the moment.  
  
When some time had passed, Sherry rolled over on top of Akari. “Now let me take care of you,” she said.  
  
“I’ve got no complaints there,” Akari said, cupping Sherry’s face and grinning.  
  
So, Sherry returned the favor. First, she slid her fingers against Akari’s wetness, exploring the feel of her by rote and watching all of the young woman’s reactions. Once Akari had begun to tremble, Sherry brought her face between the young woman’s legs and licked with her usual precision until Akari came apart at the seams, climaxing harder than she ever had before.  
  
After it was over, Sherry laid her head on Akari’s chest, adoring the way her young lover panted heavily, knowing that she had caused her to react like that. It was a kind of power that could become addicting, Sherry realized, but she would not bother herself to care about that.  
  
Akari reached downward and grasped Sherry’s hand as they lay entwined together. Somehow, without even really trying, they had formed a heartfelt bond in the matter of a day. The reporter recognized that no one had ever made her feel like this before, that Sherry had already taken up residence in her very soul and that was not likely to change any time soon.  
  
The shame of it was, this was not even her own dimension. Akari laid back against the sheets, holding Sherry closer. This could only ever be one time, she knew that. After all, inter-dimensional time travel was not a business where you could go falling in love. But...could she ever let go of this?  
  
Knowing herself, Akari figured the answer was probably no.  
  
...One time? She’d see about that.  
  
  
  
  
  
The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! As with most of my ships, I have a ton of headcanon around this pairing that I might eventually make into more fanfic. There's also something I love about dimensional time traveler!Akari (quantum leap!Akari i guess?). Could there be a better person for this job? I think not.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! Let's all enjoy more Yu-Gi-Oh, guys (the fandom that will never die, I claim).


End file.
